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[QUOTE="LAorange44, post: 4967514, member: 1436"]
I support Red and hope he succeeds.  But we’ve been spoiled by having a top 10 coach for decades.  It is unrealistic to expect Red to be JB in year one.  JB coached 1,500+ games and Red has coached just north of 20. We are part of the middle class of coaches.  Here’s what I’ve noticed.

While the players are what they are, they haven’t gotten better as the season has gone on. Our defense has been getting worse each game since the Pitt road game.  Likewise, our offense is abysmal and below average for college ball. While our offense has been slightly less abysmal the last few games, we are hardly rolling into February and March in peak form, another hallmark of the Boeheim teams. JB’s teams always improved to the point where we were dangerous.  Not seeing it with this team despite the strong start and conference wins so far. Louisville, Wake, Clemson all seem better than they were a month ago.

The 20.8 average margin of loss is disturbing. JB’s last 3 teams had average loss margins of 10-13 pts.  Is the current crop of players that much worse than the Boeheim Bros and Joe Girard years?  No. Nor is the ACC that much better.  I think most believed we were coming into this year with an upgraded roster due to Red’s portal wizardry.  What I think the difference in loss differential highlights is JB’s expertise in in-game adjustments, unrelenting competitiveness, and as a motivator.  Red and the current staff in their current ability are a step down from JB in that regard. But again, we are comparing a first year coach to an all time great.

So it’s probably a little of both.  Our players aren’t as good as we had hoped.  And the team isn’t competiting  as hard as our previous teams have, which I think falls on coaching. It is what it is and showcases how hard it is to replace a legend.
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